Why Sharing Ebooks is Good for People – and Good for Publishers
upstart writes:
Why sharing ebooks is good for people - and good for publishers:
One of the joys of reading is being able to share your favourite books with friends, family and colleagues. As I am sure is the case for most people, in these circumstances I often go on to buy my own copy of a book I have been lent and like. In this respect, sharing books is not only an important social act of generosity, it's also one of the best forms of marketing, since it represents a recommendation from a trusted source, and a chance to try before you buy.
Things have changed recently, with the increasing popularity of ebooks. Many use Digital Rights Management (DRM) to make it hard for people to share books. More generally, publishers have pushed the line that unlike physical books, ebooks should never be shared. Their main reason for this assertion seems to be that it's simply too easy to share digital books by making a copy, and so people shouldn't do it, because, well, copyright. But this new injunction is really part and parcel of publishers' wider fear of - and hatred for - anything digital. That's because they know that it is impossible to stop digital material being copied, no matter what laws are passed, or DRM is applied.
The idea that ebooks by definition must never be shared was always wrong - books released under sensible licences can be shared without problems. It is also dangerous, because it leads to this kind of stupidity, noticed by the Twitter user @emeraalds when looking to buy a (physical) book, and reported here on The Mary Sue site (via mvario):
The copyright page, which is from a book called Zodiac Academy #1: The Awakening by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti, reads, "This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it wasn't purchased for your use only, then please return to your favourite book retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author."
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